“Scott is the kind of musician they don’t make anymore, in the mold of the late Pete Seeger – unpretentious, dead serious about his craft, dedicated to preserving traditional American music and instruments... and so versatile he can make you weep one moment over the story of a dying steel town…and snicker appreciatively the next at a driving Mississippi blue song full of earthy innuendo.” - Pamela Constable, the Washington Post. $10 Admission includes great refreshments. Doors open at 6:30. BYOB. Cafe atmosphere.

This internationally renowned violinist has won the Paganini Competition, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Most of us in Vermont, however, know him as the youngest-ever musician to join the VYO (at age 10), and today as co-artistic director of the acclaimed Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival. Kim celebrates the release of his new solo Bach CD by performing Bach’s six sonatas and partitas for solo violin. A Nelson Series event. Reserved seating. A Performing Arts Series event. Tickets: $28 General public/$22 Midd ID holders/$6 Midd students. On sale to PASS Members 9/6, ID holders 9/11, general public 9/14. 802.443.3168 or go.middlebury.edu/boxoffice

If joy were a person, he'd bring both peace and frenzy. He'd be full of music, light, and energy that soothes even as it stirs us up. Eyes closed, wire-rim glasses in place, mandolin pressed against his ribs, joy would be Sam Bush on a stage.

"I feel fortunate that when it's time to play, no matter how I feel physically or mentally, once the downbeat starts, my mind goes to a place that's all music," says Bush. "The joy of the music comes to me and overtakes me sometimes -- I just become part of the music."

That rapt merging of life and art fills Bush's new album 'Storyman,' a freewheeling collection that gleefully picks and chooses from jazz, folk, blues, reggae, country swing, and bluegrass to create a jubilant noise only classifiable as the Sam Bush sound. Many of the songs are stories -- several of them true -- and the legendary mandolin player co-wrote every one of them with friends including Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Jon Randall Stewart, Jeff Black, and others.

"I'm hoping it just kind of flows for people and makes them go, 'Hey! It's a Sam record. It sounds like Sam and the band,'" Bush says. "But for the first time ever, I also find myself thinking, 'I hope you enjoy the stories.' It's my singer-songwriter record."

The Father of Newgrass and King of Telluride has long since established himself as roots royalty, revered for both his solo and sideman work, which includes time with Harris, Lyle Lovett, and Béla Fleck. But instead of kicking back and soaking up honors such as an Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award and suite of Grammys and International Bluegrass Music Association trophies, Bush still strives relentlessly to create something new.

Raised on a farm just outside of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Bush grew up plowing tobacco fields in the Southern summer heat alongside his family. He started playing mandolin when he was 11 years old. "I believe growing up on a farm probably helped me channel my energy into learning music and being so interested in it," Bush says. "Me and my sisters, we all loved it. I've often wondered if that's because growing up on a farm, you couldn't go ride your bike all over town and horse around like the other kids."

For Bush, a lifetime of channeling his energy has led to stylistic innovations that have changed the course of bluegrass and roots music alike.

The Opera Company of Middlebury enters its 15th season with a production of Donizetti’s famous comedy, L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love). The fizzy romantic opera tells the story of a con artist who convinces a town that his strange concoction can cure any ill – and can even make other people fall in love with you.

Thursday, October 12 and Friday October 13 at 7:30 pm, with a matinee on Saturday, October 14 at 2:00 pm. Tickets range from $45-$60,

Valley Arts is pleased to announce a new exhibition of fine art and quality custom crafts combined in one location. Multi-Media Mania moves into the new galleries of the Big Red Barn at Lareau Farm (48 Lareau Rd, Waitsfield VT, 05673)!

The non-juried exhibition is designed to showcase fine arts and crafts during the annual leaf-peeping season. The mixed showing of fine art and quality custom crafts includes paintings, fabric art, ceramics, glass, sculpture, furniture, photography, mosaics, woodworking, metalwork, quilting and weaving. The exhibition will illustrate how fine arts and quality crafts complement one another.

Following Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues, this is the poignant and funny conclusion of Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical Eugene trilogy. Eugene and his brother Stanley are trying to break into the world of professional comedy writing, while coping with their parents’ messy and gut-wrenching split. When their material is broadcast on the radio for the first time, the rest of the family is upset to hear a comedic rendition of their own trials and tribulations. How will Eugene and his brother balance their loyalties to their family and to their art?

Please join us on Saturday, August 19th from 6 to 8pm to celebrate our last opening reception of the summer!

Painter Kathleen Kolb was driven by two sustained, emotive forces in the creation of this collection of recent works inspired by travels in Ireland and throughout her home state of Vermont: a deep attachment to place and a passion for the visual effect of light on our everyday surroundings.

Please join us on Saturday, August 19th from 6 to 8 pm to celebrate our last opening reception of the summer!

In his first solo exhibition at West Branch, Charlie Bluett's expressionist paintings celebrate the changeling nature of the Vermont landscape, drawing upon impressions of morning mists rising to reveal the mountains, rain soaked stonewalls bursting with new moss and lichen, and the glancing sun on pebble-strewn creek beds.

Vermont abounds in accomplished children’s book artists and authors of regional and national reputation.This summer, eighteen are featured in the Sheldon Museum’s exhibit "Draw Me a Story – Tell Me a Tale."

The featured exhibitors vary from artists/authors specializing in works that help children learn the alphabet and numbers, such as Mary Azarian, Woody Jackson, Warren Kimble, and Ashley Wolff, to those who concentrate on nature and travels, such as Jan Reynolds, Peter Lourie, and Jim Arnosky.

More traditional children’s stories are represented by the New Yorker Magazine cartoonist Harry Bliss, who takes his readers on trips to museums, while Thatcher Hurd introduces his readers to the creative energies of Art Dog, and Janet Hayward Burnham combines poetry with illustrations of dragons and cats. Sarah Dillard relates stories featuring miniature mice and chicks and Tracey Campbell Pearson depicts levitating youngsters and friendly elephants.

John and Jennifer Churchman provide magical photographs and stories of sheep and other farm friends. Jason Chin introduces eager young learners to mysteries of gravity and the wonders of the Galapagos, while Deirdre Gill explores winter dragons and train travel. Angels, animals, and friendship are colorful themes portrayed by Phoebe Stone. Desperate dogs and baby robins frolic through the stories by Eileen Christelow.

Book readings and author presentations are planned during the run of the exhibit.

Northern Daughters is excited to present The Strong and the Weak, a solo exhibit of paintings from Patrick Shoemaker. The exhibition is on view at the gallery’s 221 Main St. location in Vergennes, Vermont from September 1st through October 15th with an opening reception on September 8th from 5-8pm.

Patrick Shoemaker’s paintings are inspired by mythology and lore, rooted in American history, and folk art. While relying on contemporary vernacular, his paint handling and use of color is unmistakably his own. Using large amounts of medium mixed with oil pigment, this technique allows him to mix colors and blur lines directly on the surface, imitating a watercolor like texture. The paintings are at once iconographic and implicit, intimate and unknown.

Waitsfield United Church Village Meeting House is hosting an Artist Talk and Opening Reception for “Seasons-Threadpainting by Pamela Druhen” on Saturday, September 30 at 3:30 pm. Pamela Druhen is an international award winning fiber artist, working primarily in fabric and thread, as well as teacher, lecturer and curator. She will speak about the inspiration for her artwork as well as the intricate techniques used to create each original design.

“Though much of my work is representational, I enjoy working in abstract as well,” said Druhen, “I’ve begun experimenting with wire as fiber, knitting or crocheting fine gauge wire and including it in different ways.” Most of the pieces on exhibit were done between 2014 and the present including some which have been created specifically for this exhibit.

Pam draws inspiration from the beauty of Vermont and how life here is defined by the seasons. When the seasons change, everything changes with it - the smells, colors, what we wear, how we live, the food we eat. Pam’s representational work is inspired by her experiences of the seasons while traveling with her husband around Vermont, New England and beyond. Her abstract work embraces the wider seasons of life – young, old, in-between, sickness, death, change, new life, joy, love, progress and confusion. These seasons are personal and limitless. “I think my abstract work is an attempt to embrace these wider seasons of life, those that aren’t defined by weather or temperature or the limits of landscape,” said Druhen.

The Waitsfield United Church Village Meeting House has been exhibiting artwork during the Vermont Festival of the Arts for five years. “Because of our recent construction, we had to delay the opening of this show until after the Festival,” said Karen Nevin, chair of the Village Meeting House Arts Committee. “We are incredibly excited to be able to show Pam’s work this fall and open our doors to the community through this exhibit.”

The exhibit will run Fridays through Sundays, September 29-October 15 from noon – 5 pm. Pam will speak about her work on Saturday, September 30 at 3:30 pm followed by the Opening Reception. Admission is free. The Waitsfield United Church Village Meeting House is located at 4355 Main Street, Route 100, Waitsfield.

Fantastic Wantastiquet is a new 'umbrella' festival covering Windham County and the immediate tri-state area, including Cheshire County NH and Franklin County MA. Most activities are concentrated in and around the Brattleboro area, but we explicitly embrace and publicize all arts and cultural activities in the larger area, particularly in the West River (Wantastiquet) valley watershed. The name 'Fantastic Wantastiquet' re-claims the original Abenaki name for the West River -- Wantastiquet -- and the larger Festival embraces traditional arts and cultural forms. In this inaugural year, the Festival is taking on special significance because Brattleboro has decided to embrace the Indigenous Peoples Day initiative in place of the National Columbus Day holiday weekend.

The Gallery at River Arts is celebrating its third annual group exhibition of River Works (on view August 24 – October 20 2017). There will be an opening reception on Thursday, September 14 from 5-7pm.

The River Arts Center’s name and location hold an emotional connection to Vermont rivers. Stewardship of environment in our community is vital. We see the bend in the Lamoille River at the Oxbow from the Center. Rivers are an important part of Lamoille County’s economic engine, with three locations for hydropower within three miles. Water is always moving. Change is constant.

River Works 3 includes a range of engaging paintings by Robert Brunelle, Rett Sturman, Jen Hubbard, John Sargent, and Homer Wells. Photographic work by Phil Herbison, and cyanotypes by Renee Greenlee show many perspectives on the river theme. Poetry and photography unite in Kent Shaw and Jean O’Conor’s collaborative piece “Rain,” and a time-lapse video by Kent Shaw of a year in the life of a stream conclude the list of exhibitors.

River Arts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the community through the arts, is located at 74 Pleasant Street in Morrisville, VT. Galleries are open M-Th 9-4, F 9-2. Admission is free. For more information, call 888-1261, or visit their website at www.riverartsvt.org.

ArtisTree Gallery invites you to visit our annual display of Local Color through the work of local artists. Acknowledge the season and celebrate color while supporting local creativity in what has become a perennial favorite among ArtisTree's exhibits.

This exciting new exhibition created by Valley Arts traces the various art genre as depicted by artists working in various mediums. 22 outstanding artists exhibit work with many pieces shown publicly for the first time. Photographs and paintings in pastel, oil, watercolor, pen & ink and acrylic are part of the exhibition.

Opening reception, Saturday, August 19, 5 – 7 pm All are welcome. The exhibition will run August 19th until October 21st, Wednesday – Saturday, 1pm-5pm.

Welcome to the 1958 Springfield High School prom! Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy, and Suzy are the “Springfield Songleaders.” Fast forward a decade and they reunite to take the stage for their 10-year reunion. With over 30 classic hits from the 50s and 60s including “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” and “It’s My Party!” The Marvelous Wonderettes is a musical trip down memory lane.

Henrik Ibsen, the father of modern drama, argued that everyone, man or woman, had a right to be who they wanted to be. In A Doll’s House, protagonist Nora epitomizes struggles against the constraints of social conformity as she confronts her identity and the state of her marriage. Though Ibsen was writing in the 19th century, his masterpiece remains just as relevant as when it was written. As Mark Lawson writes, “Our culture is in moral chaos, with inquiries, trials, and debates agonizing over what we should think about politics, money, journalism, medicine, and sex, themes to which Ibsen…urgently returned.” – The Guardian

Two new exhibits: the Paleteers of Vermont member show and Sketches in Perfection: A special exhibit of paintings and sketches by Thomas Waterman Wood. Both exhibits run from September 12th through October 27th with an opening reception on Thursday September 14th, from 5:00-7:00 pm. The reception is free and will offer an opportunity to meet many of the artists, enjoy refreshments, learn more about T.W. Woods art and purchase local art at affordable prices.

Susan Bull Riley’s primary muse is Vermont’s natural world, which was hers to explore as she grew up in a family that spent as much time outdoors as in. “Natural Affection” reflects three facets of her work: a love of botanical watercolor, a bottomless affection for birds, and a need to release, via art, the intensity of her affection for the landscapes of her native state. The exhibit runs from August 25 through October 28, with an opening reception on Friday, August 25 from 5:00-7:00.

For nearly fifty years, Robert Frost “barded” around the country with his poetry, dry wit, and “promises to keep,” performing some of the greatest verse in the English canon and sharing his “wild surmises” on religion, science, poetic form, whatever was on his mind. Starring Emmy winning and Tony nominated actor Gordon Clapp, A.M. Dolan's This Verse Business not only gives us Frost, the rascally wit of the platform, but also a personal view of Frost at his cabin.

Please join us for the 20th Annual North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show (NBOSS)! One of the area's longest running consecutive art exhibitions, this year's iteration will feature an array of different media, and eclectic styles of sculpture spread over the Vermont Arts Exchange campus and surrounding areas. This year's show will feature works by over thirty nationally recognized, as well as local area artists. Local band "Ransom Notes" will be playing the opening event July 8th, 4-8 PM, with food and drinks provided by Harvest Brewing. We hope to see you there!

The Brandon Artists Guild (the BAG) celebrates Vermont's colorful scenery with a new exhibit of paintings and pastels by Middlebury artist Norma Jean Rollet. The show, "Portraits of the Vermont Landscape" runs September 1 through October 31. Opening reception is Friday, September 8, 5-7pm at the BAG, 7 Center Street, Brandon.

Rollet, who attended the New England School of Art and Design in Boston, moved to Vermont in 1983, and became captivated by the diversity of the landscape. As she describes it, "From mountains to meadows to farm fields and woodlands, the characteristics of the Vermont landscape are no different than the individual features of its citizens. The beauty of the countryside forming its profile and features is the essence of what I hope to portray in my work.”

Working in oils and pastels, Rollet paints in plein air when the weather allows. "The long winter months of Vermont drive me indoors," she concedes, "but on location color studies, notes and photographs allow me to complete pieces more comfortably in my studio."

The recipient of several awards for her work, Rollet is a member of the Vermont Pastel Society, Pastel Society of America, Degas Pastel Society, and International Association of Pastel Societies.

The BAG welcomes the public to the opening reception for Norma Jean Rollet's show, "Portraits of the Vermont Landscape” on Friday, September 8 from 5 to 7 pm. The gallery, at 7 Center Street in Brandon, is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10AM to 5PM, Sundays from 10AM to 4PM. Information: 802 247-4956. www.BrandonArtistsGuild.org.

The Brandon Artists Guild is a cooperative with approximately 50 artist-members. A 501(c)3 nonprofit cultural organization, the BAG supports the visual arts through exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations and educational programs, particularly in local schools and after-school programs.

What would ornithology be without math? How do artists integrate a sense of number with the wonder of birds?

Inspired by these questions (and more), we sought works that might express the art of math, bridging the real and imaginary, with birds silly and significant. We call it Birding by the Numbers and invite you to visit.

Daily Through October • 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Included with Museum Admission (free for members)

This outstanding exhibit, run annually since 2000, showcases stone sculptures and assemblages by area artists. In addition, take the Art Stroll around downtown, historic Barre and view a variety of sculptures created from granite.

Bryan Memorial Gallery's annual flagship landscape exhibition: LAND AND LIGHT AND WATER AND AIR, features over 100 paintings of New England scenes by 50 artists. Prizes are awarded, including the prestigious Alden Bryan Medal for Best in Show. Gallery hours listed are through Columbus Day, after which the gallery is open Thursday - Sunday, 11 - 4 and by appointment.

Entitled "The Crackerjack Art Of Chuck Welch Networks The FeMail XX Conspiracy", this exhibition came together when Tara Verheide (aka Sinclair Scripa) invited Chuck Welch (aka The Cracker Jack Kid) to collaborate with her on a show that would feature what is often referred to as "NetWork Art", or art that is done in correspondence with one or more other artists. Welch, or 'Cracker' agreed, and it was decided he would contribute artwork created over years of 'networking", while Verheide or ‘Sinclair’ would provide a current survey of many NetWorker's artworks. Verheide would focus especially on pieces recently mailed to her from hundreds of artists, in over 20 countries, on the topics of Women as Scientific Artists and Networked Art as a Global Conspiracy. Together, Welch and Verheide have put together a stunning array of works, full of sharp contrasts and light commentary. Virtually every size, media, and approach to subjects and materials can be seen, from digital projects, writings and zines, to sound art, mailed art, poetry and performance art. Though seemingly unrelated, the thoughtful person will note the common thread: attitude; the attitude that daily life with its chance, spontaneous, personal, political, material and perfectly absurd offerings, is a place from which art can be practiced and shared via NetWorks. And for all that, Networked Art may be more interesting, free and significant than art made under the constraints of judgement and commodification. If there is a Networker Global Conspiracy it is this: art can be made by whoever, whenever and however the means are available. Just make sure and share it!

“Art of the Selfie” is an exhibition featuring work by Andy Warhol, Suzy Lake, Carrie Mae Weems, Marina Abramovic, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and emerging artists who explore the expression and transformation of self-images and identity. Curated by Sarah McCutcheon Greiche.

SHOW 21 is the latest group exhibition of the collective gallery’s membership of Vermont-based contemporary artists. n addition, the Front will present work by guest artist Alisa Dworsky whose creative work includes drawing, printmaking, sculpture, installation and architecture. In her installation work, Alisa explores how force and rhythm are communicated in the human body and in human built structures. Gallery hours are Friday 5 - 8 PM, Sat 11 AM-8 PM. Free and open to the public. Limited edition prints by several of the gallery’s artists are also available for sale. The Front is located 6 Barre Street in downtown Montpelier, diagonally across and around the corner from the Savoy Theatre.

At 5 pm, on Sept. 2 at 5pm, choreographers Tracy Penfield and Tamara Hurwitz-Pullman will present the new work "Passing," performed by the 7 dancers and 2 musicians of the Passing Project. "Passing" features a large wooden and knotless netted linen set by Otto Pierce and Tracy Penfield.

LandARTLab is an extension of SculptureFest (Woodstock, VT), and is based at King Farm (Vermont Land Trust). The two locations are connected by a walking trail.

IMPORTANT - PARKING is at King Farm, 128 King Farm Road, Woodstock, VT. Please note: no parking on Prosper Road.

This exhibition, organized by Assistant Professor of History of Art Carrie Anderson and her students, tells a story of artistic production from its conception to its afterlife. The eclectic selection of drawings, photographs, paintings, and sculpture comes from the generous gifts of Impressionist scholar and alumnus Charles S. Moffett ’67 and Lucinda Herrick.

This exhibit provides the viewer with a welcome escape to far-off environments. Here you will travel into the artist’s expansive pastures, cities, and seascapes that explode with color and light. An opening reception as well as Montpelier Art Walk will be held Friday, October 6 from 4:00 – 7:00pm.

Neddo expresses his personal vision using Stone Age technology (or primitive skills) to create works of wild-crafted fine art; making every part of his creations utilizing fibers, furs, berries, beeswax, mud, sticks, and stones to create the tools of his creative process—paintbrushes, ink, charcoal, paint, papers, and pens. The amazing works themselves are also crafted from homemade paints, inks, charcoals, and papers. An opening reception as well as Montpelier Art Walk will be held Friday, October 6 from 4:00 – 7:00pm. PHOTO ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRY

Of Land and Local celebrates its fifth year at the BCA Center & Shelburne Farms. 16 new and returning artists further explore last year’s watershed focus bringing a fresh perspective to this important topic.

The exhibit explores how issues relating to the watershed fit within a domestic and global context. Themes investigate ideas of place, conservation, commodification, and water’s cultural role within our community.

The Henry Sheldon Museum presents an exhibit of 20 esteemed contemporary Vermont children’s book authors/artists. Their paintings, illustrations, and photographs, as well as books that feature their artworks will be scattered throughout the museum to be enjoyed by visiting children and adults. Author readings, presentations, panel discussions, and hands-on activities are being planned throughout the run of the exhibit.

The many authors and artists vary in age, background, experience, and style, but all have chosen to live in Vermont, finding inspiration from the state’s landscape, agriculture, village life, and friendly neighbors. They also draw inspiration from their own childhood memories, as well as more recent experiences with their children and grandchildren. A child’s imagination is limitless and these artists/authors perfectly capture the whimsy of possibility. Their colorful and creative works will captivate visitors of all ages.

The Castleton University Art Galleries are excited to share "Living With The Earth," three collections of paintings by Joan Curtis, at Rutland City Hall. The Sunken Treasures group was engendered by abstracted still-life studies from Joan’s sculptures, which in turn suggest under-the-sea imagery. The panel group At One with Nature’s Wiles refers to humans living with dramatic changes in the world of nature. The Peaceable Kingdom series expresses the hope that we can continue to live with the wild animals of the Earth. All three collections were created between 2008 and 2015.